I’m Never Going to Look Like a Celebrity
Hi guys! I hope you’ve been enjoying your Saturday!
As I said yesterday, last night I went out with some friends. We had a fun time dancing the night away at a bar in Central Square I’d never been to. And the DJ was awesome- he was mixing together songs of all types. Sadly I didn’t take many pictures…but I got a few-
Alicia and I!
Haha, Ian decided to ruin my picture with Kelly…and my smile is kind of fake looking.
Oh and he got in the back of this one with Jessica too haha.
It was a fun night out with my good friends :). I think I slept til almost 10am today…that was sooo nice!
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Do you guys read fitness magazines and websites (that aren’t blogs)?
I do, and I generally love them. However there is something that tends to bother me big time. And that is when there is an article talking about how you can get a certain part of your body to look exactly like a certain celebrity’s.
I’m sure many of you have seen things like-
“How to get Jennifer Aniston’s long, lean body”
“Use these moves to get Jessica Biel’s arms”
“Exercises to make you legs look like Cameron Diaz’s”
“You too can have Gwen Stefani’s abs. Just follow this…”
Articles telling you the diet to follow, exercises to do, or amount of calories you should eat in order to look like a celebrity are ridiculous. We are never going to look like a celebrity. In fact, we are never going to look like anyone other than ourselves. I think it’s a crock that magazines and websites tell women (and men..I don’t read those ones though) that we can look a certain way if we just follow their guidelines.
I can do the given ab workout every single day for a year and yeah, my abs may look better, but they aren’t going to look like Gwen Stefani’s because I’m not Gwen Stefani. I’m Lindsay. My abs are different than hers. What works for her is probably very different than what works for me.
We need to understand that our bodies are our own and that they are unique in every way. I could run for 2 hours every day and not lose a single pound while someone else could run for 20 minutes every day and drop 5lbs. Yea, that’s not necessarily “fair”, but that’s just a fact of life that needs to be accepted.
I believe that once we fully appreciate our uniqueness we can learn what works best for us. Sure, we can use some arm exercises from a “look like Jessica Biel” article and incorporate them into our routine. But we shouldn’t completely rely on those exercises and expect that “poof”- a few weeks later our arms will look fabulous.
Sometimes, I think people give up too fast when they aren’t seeing the desired results. It can take a while to try different workouts and exercises in order to figure out what your body responds to best. These magazines and fitness websites can make it seem like you should be able to “follow these steps” and your body will magically transform. It’s a tease.
Like I said, I do enjoy reading said magazines and sites, I just wish they didn’t sometimes promote ways for us to try and achieve the body of another person. That’s not possible for anyone, and I think it’s wrong to tell women that it is.
Question:
What do you think about those types of articles?? I’d love to hear your thoughts :).
Posted on September 3, 2011, in Body Image, Health. Bookmark the permalink. 29 Comments.
In Sweetness and In Health 
i think you’re so right!
but i’d add another gripe of mine: people who look at those articles, or who look at pictures of a celebrity in a bikini, and say ‘well, they can pay to look that good.’ obviously eating well and working out would be made a hundred times easier if we all had limitless cash, personal trainers, and a lot more free time to devote to it, but the idea that it’s ‘easy’ for them to look amazing is just an excuse people give for why they shouldn’t exercise. working out and being healthy is hard! just because gisele can afford a nice gym doesn’t mean she doesn’t have to sweat like crazy when she’s in there!
sorry, i know this is slightly off-topic, but i just think it’s such a weak line people use to justify why they don’t keep in shape – that celebrity ‘aspirational’ bodies are the product of time and money that’s simply ungraspable by the regular person. not true!!
I think you make such a great point. As always, I believe those titles are a ploy to get you to buy the magazine or read the article. The magazines should focus more on what’s best for your individual body, shape, and self. NOT about how you can be the skinniest or look just like some celebrity.
This is a great post Lindsay! I couldn’t agree with you more! I tend not to read magazines like Shape or Women’s Health for that very reason. And when I do, I have to constantly remind myself that those pictures of fitness models or celebrities are completely airbrushed. I think you’re right though. Many times a workout routine that is awesome for someone is not going to be awesome for me. We all have different body types, metabolisms, and genetics (all of which affect how our body responds to exercise) so there’s no reason to think that there’s a “one size fits all” answer to health and fitness. I get really worked up over this subject too (as you can probably tell!), so I’ve found it’s just better for me not to expose myself to those kinds of lies. Great post!! 🙂
PS – I just gave you an “award” on my blog! Check it out if you get a chance! 🙂
This is so true! Very well written. I think they just use those lines to draw readers in and buy the magazine just like Ashley said. It’s not necessarily good to promote but they know that’s what will catch people’s eye.
So true!! Genetics determines how you develop muscle – so not matter how much you work a certain muscle group, it will never look just like someone else!
This is an AMAZING post. I do beleive That this is why young girls have so many self image issues At such a long age. I think it is ironic That these same sites and magazines talk about raising awareness for eating disorders…
Yea, that is really ironic! I actually never even thought about that
Lindsay, I was so happy when I saw that you posted about this topic!
Honestly, every time I see those magazine ads I can’t help but to want to rip them off the stands. It makes me sick to know that there are people out there who buy this crap! Your perspective is great, and that’s right– we can’t be anybody but ourselves.
So you stay Lindsay and I’ll stay Brittany, deal?
Deal :)…love you!
I don’t read fitness magazines anymore because I find them so unrealistic and just plain annoying. I WISH I could do some exercise to get Jennifer Anniston’s legs or something but that just won’t happen.
well said. No ONE body is the same. We react differently to certain foods, workouts, stress, etc. First things first, we must learn to love what we have and treat is kindly. Right?!
Right! Now, if only that wasn’t such a struggle for so many people!
I completely agree with this!! I haven’t read a magazine in over a month and I noticed I feel better without them. Magazines make you feel like you need things you don’t and that you need to look a certain way. Besides that, I’m glad you had a great night out with friends yesterday! 🙂
I think that, from a journalist point of view, it’s easy for me to separate the headline from the article and look at the moves or content themselves. I know that it’s just a technique the magazine is using to get people to read the story. But I completely agree that the articles are promoting false aspirations.
I agree…I think those articles give a lot of people false hopes. I try not to get too caught up in it..I know that doing the workouts won’t turn me into a celeb. However, my thirteen year old self might have thought otherwise. I think it’s sad that we (well, the magazines) are basically telling teens that they don’t look good enough, so they need to strive to look like someone else.
Absolutely. I think you have to strive to be happy with your own body, not trying to make it into some celebrity “ideal.” When you fall into that comparison trap, you’re always going to be disappointed. You’ve got to find things on your own body to admire and enjoy.
I loved your post. I think the other thing that is important to keep in mind is that these people have a lot of help to look the way they do. Not everyone has the luxury of a personal trainer, a personal chef, a makeup artist, a wardrobe consutlant, etc. I’d rather take pleasure in the little things in life that make me happy… I’ll take an ice cream cone over the extra 40 minute ab workout please!
Thank you! Um, I’ll take ice cream too haha
It’s totally a ploy to get people to buy the magazine. I actually like the workouts themselves and will sometimes incorporate new moves from them that I haven’t used before. I really liked this post. I hope young girls realize that they should embrace their own bodies and not strive to look like celebrities.
Love this post! So many girls are trying to look like someone else; is that not the weirdest thing ever? So glad to see you’re loving your wonderful self!
SUCH A GREAT POST, LINDSAY!! I completely agree. Everyone’s bodies are different. AND normal people don’t have cosmetologists, beauticians, and personal stylists working on them and airbrushing and photoshopping them every 5 seconds!! 🙂
I couldn’t agree more. I think telling people they can look a certain way by doing this, that and the other thing ultimately sets them up for failure because they are being given examples of things they can do that have not been applied to them (and all that is unique about them). To get what you want you need to figure out how it applies to you as an individual, rather than look at how it applies to somebody else and what works for them. You are right on with this post.
Thank you!
One sentence, but so true and meaningful! It’s so easy to read magazines and get caught in a cloud of dreams, which really just makes the fall that much harder. If only it were easier to keep this in mind all the time… stop reading magazines, maybe?
I agree- what works for someone (not just celebrities) may not work for you. I hardly ever bother to read those kinds of articles because in reality, let’s face it, they have personal trainers! Good post Lindsay. 🙂
I couldn’t agree more – I try to read those mags as entertainment…not for fitness advice, ya know? Fitness magazines – my only “must read” would be Runner’s World. Runner up would be oxygen.
I agree 100%!!! That is a pet peeve of mine, and totally sets women (and men!) up for a negative image of their own bodies.
We are all ourselves and you have to do what’s right for YOU. I will never have a celeb body and I have accepted this. Being different and your own person is a good thing!
Great post!
I agree with you. It really irritates me that magazines say “do this for x amount of days and you’ll look like _____” Its riduclous. Most of all, it does make people give up to easy when they don’t see muscles like Jessica Biel’s in two weeks. Everything takes continuous work. You want muscles? You have to work for it for longer than 2 weeks.
I read these magazines, but I don’t put much faith in them. What my body needs is different from everyone else. All I can do is listen to it. I’ll never have a celebrity body, but I do have my body. and I love my body.
Love this post 🙂
Well said lady!! I absolutely agree. Not only will one person never look like another person just by doing their workout, I hate that these articles fail to point out that you can do all the ab exercises you want, but unless you pair it with proper diet you won’t likely see the results you want. Situps alone won’t give you abs, bicep curls alone won’t give you muscular biceps, etc.
Glad you had fun Friday!